Sele-priming gun-lock



S1AES PATENT FFCE.

RICHARD S. LAWRENCE, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

SELF-PRIMING GUN-LOCK.

Specification of Letcers Patent No. 23,590, dated April 12, 1859.

T0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD S. LAWRENCE, of the city of Hartford, in thecounty of Hartford and State of Connectiout, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Automatic Primers for Firearms; and I dohereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1, is avertical section of a primer with my 1mprovements parallel with the faceof the lock plate. Fig. 2, is a transverse section of the same, in theplane inclicated by the line m, 00, in Fig. 1. Fig. 3, is a partialtransverse section of the same in the plane indicated by the line 7, y,in Fig. 1. Fig. 4, is an inside face view of the lock plate. Fig. 5, isa top view of the primer vvith the cover spring removed. Fig. 6, is aplan of the same with the cover and driver removed. Fig. 7, is a plan ofthe priming driver. Fig. 8, is a side view of the same. Fig. 9, is aside view of the shut-off.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

This invention consists in certain improvements in that description ofautomatic primer known as Sharps primer, vvhereby greater facility isafforded for the introduction of the pellets into the tube or magazineprovided for them in the lock plate, and provision is made for shuttingthem off to permit the use of common percussion caps in the ordinarymanner when desired, and generally to prevent the pellets frominterfering with or being interfered with by the movements of thehammer, when desired t0 operate the hammer without delivering thepellets, and whereby, also, the delivery of more than one pellet at atime by the movement of the hammer is effectually prevented.

T0 enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I Willproceed t0 describe its construction and operation.

A, is the lock plate having the pellet hole or magazine a, in the usualposition, and having its upper side grooved out to receive the primingdriver b, the cover 7', and what I call the shut-off, 9. The driver 6,instead of being made of about the thickness of the pellets e, 6, as hasheretof0re been customary is made of a little more than double thatthickness, but has its front portion for about one-eighth of an inch inlength reducecl on the underside to a thickmess but very slightlygreater than thethick ness of the pellets, as shown at 10, in Fig. 8,and from the so-reduced portion it is beveled as shown at 11, in awedge-like form, but this bevel only extnds so far back that when thedriver is thrown forward to its full extent' by the action of the hammeror by other means, the full thickness of the driver Will lay over thepellet hole or magazine a, a. This vvedge like portion, as the driveradvances to push out the upper pellet, by its action on the next pelletbelow, forces clown all the other pellets into the magazine a, about thethickness of one pellet, and thus prevents more than one pellet at atime being forced out. The driver has also a groove 12, in its underside extending the whole length of the thicker portion and leaving athickness of metal at the top of the groove equal to the thickness ofthe reduced portion 10, as shown in the section, Fig. I, said groovebeing to receive what I term the shut-off which I Will presentlydescribe. The front extremity of the driver is slightly beveled on itsunder side in the usual manner, and has a projection 21, of the usualform, on one side to enter the groove, f, in the hammer B, to enable thelatter to operate the driver in the usual manner.

9, is the shut-off, consisting of a plate of a thickness to slide in thegroove 12, of the driver, and arranged under the driver in a grooveprovided in the lock plate, as shown in Fig. 2. This plate has awedgelike projection 13, on the upper part of its front end, as shown inFigs. 1 and 9, whose duty it is to pass between the driver and the toppel let Within the magazine to shut off the pellets from the driver. Ithas also a slot 14:,

which works on a pin 15, inserted through 7 the lock plate, said slotbeing so inclined that as the shut off advances between the driver andthe pellet it also descends slightly and thus while forcing clown thepellets frees itself from the driver and leaves the latter free of thepressure of the feeding piston p, and spring 9, so that it may beoperated with very little friction vvhen the pellets are shut off. Onone side the shut-off 9, has formed upon or secured to it a pin 16,Which projects from a recess 77., IL, on the upper edge of the lockplate. This pin 16, serves to enable the operator to movethe shut-off g,back and forth to shut ofi? and liberate the pellets, and the length ofthe recess 7L, 7L, li1nits said pin to a proper movement.

In the back part of the upper edge of the shut-ofi there are two bevelednotches 17, 18, into either of which a tooth 20, on the rear end of theprimer oover z' is capable when the cover j, is closed, of engaging; inthe former notch to look the shut-ofi' closed, and in the latter to lookit open. The shut off is shown in Fig. 1, in both positions, viz.,closed in red outline and open in black.

The primer oover 7', is fitted to slide in the look plate in the usualmanner, over the driver, but its spring z, instead of being simply astraight piece of steel is turned clown at its rear end to form thetooth 20. The said spring is secured to the cover j, bv a screw m, andkept rom getting out et place by a guide pin n, secured in the cover.The tooth 20, besides serving to look the shut off When the cover 7', isclosed, serves to look the cover in a closed position by entering abeveled notch 76, in a portion Z, of the look plate. This notch k,coincides exactly With the notch 17, of the shut 011 when the latter isopen, and With the notoh 18, when it is closed. Ovving to the roundedform of the edge of the tooth 20, it slips out of the notches 17, 18,and 73, when force is applied to open or close either the shut-ofi orthe cover.

The shut ofi can only be moved forvvard to shut ofi' the pellets whenthe driver is in its most forward position, and its thicker portioncovers the pellets, for it is only in that position of the driver, thatany provision is made for the entry of the point of the shut ofi,betvveen it and the pellets, and in that position there is the opengroove 12, above the pellets.

The shut-off g, besides serving to shut ofi the pellets When desired,and permit the use of percussion caps or other priming while the pelletsromain in their magazine a,

is of great service in the operation of placing the pellets in themagazine, whioh with Sharps primer as ordinarily constructed, is anoperation of some difiiculty, or, at least, requiring some manualdexterity. The pellets for these primers, as is Well known, are sold insmall tubes Which have a slit all down one side, and are usuallyinserted in the magazine by placing the mouth of the tube therein andforcing clown the feeding piston 79, and then, by means of the point ofa nail, or some sharp point inserted through the slit in the tube,holding the caps While the tube is drawn out and the cover closed. In myimproved primer the piston is pushed down as far as desired by the tubefull of pellets, in the usual manner, but cars is taken to place theslit of the tube opposite the shut-ofi'. The shut oif is then pushedforward and the point of its wedge-like front portion, 13, entering thetube above the caps, retains them in the magazine while the tube isbeing drawn out and after it has been dravvn out, without any trouble tothe operator.

VVhat I olaim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

1. The shut-off g, constructed, applied, and operating substantially asand for the purposes herein specified.

2. Constructing the driver with its rear portion of about double thethickness of the pellets, and With the wedge-like bevel 11, and thegroove 12, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

3. The combination of the clownwardly extended tooth 20, of the coverspring and the notches 17, 18, in the shut-ofi", and 76, in the lookplate, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

RICHARD S. LAWRENCE.

'Witnesses SAML. H. GREEN, ROBERT E. DAY.

